My first day at Providence

Today was my first day of work--finally--and well worth the wait. So far it seems like a great atmosphere: similar to working at Grandview with lots of women around the same age, and it seems a similarly positive attitude towards the kids and their families. The kids don't actually start pre-school until next week, so this week we have time for prep-work, a few in-services, and for me to read over my files and figure out what I'm supposed to be doing with the kids next week! I will be working with 3 different teachers, in 5 different classes: 2 pre-school/JK classes and 3 kindergarten/SK classes, and I will be involved in all of the day to day activities including gymtime, music, snack, toilet-training (!) with an expectation that I will assessing and "treating" kids on an ongoing basis in the classroom setting. It will certainly be a challenge, but seems like a lot of fun too. I keep thinking how glad I am to have found this profession--it is such a perfect fit for me, incorporating my love of kids with my interest in science/healthcare, creative "arts" and love of teaching! How lucky we are when we can find a job that we are truly passionate about that we can also get paid for! www.providencechildren.com

Vacation in the Okanagan and Shuswap, BC

Dave and I both got back last night from separate vacations in the Okanagan Valley and Shuswap lake, BC. I spent Monday-Thursday in Kelowna with Shandra--took a leisurely drive through the Rockies, stopping in Canmore for a hike, and then staying overnight in Revelstoke on Monday. The forecast called for sun all week, so we pushed on to Kelowna on Tuesday, only to find a warm but cloudy few days, with not a lot to do in the smallish vacation/retirement town. We managed to entertain ourselves: toured some beautiful vineyards/wineries in the area (Summerhill Estates, the Quail and Finch? and Mission Hill), treated ourselves to some great food, and relaxed on the beach (despite the clouds). All in all, it was a very relaxing week, so we really shouldn't complain, but I think both Shandra and I were feeling a little TOO relaxed by the end of the week, and craving some sunshine and activity!
Luckily, our girls weekend began with a gorgeous day on friday and we headed to Sicamous to pick up our houseboat with 9 other girls: 11 of us in total! The boat was comfortable, and the girls were lots of fun. We docked overnight at the "party" beach--Neilson beach-- both nights: felt pretty old since it seemed many of the other boaters were in their early 20's or even late teens, but we had a blast regardless. Saturday we motored out to an island where some of the girls jumped off the cliffs, and we all enjoyed being circled by motorboats asking us if we were the "Budweiser Girls" (we were all wearing matching Budweiser cowboy hats).
Dave met up with a group of 22 guys on friday in Sicamous to head out for a similar weekend: although it seems they enjoyed much more beer and burgers, and much less fruit and yogurt than our boat. Not surprisingly, we found their boat on Neilson beach on Saturday night, so had a fun time dancing on their boat til all hours of the night.
We made it home at a reasonable hour last night, in preparation for my first day of work today. I will post more photos of Kelowna and Sicamous once I get them from Shandra. Here are a few from our camera of the "calm after the storm": ++ boats on the beach the morning after a late night.

Mom and Dad Brewin's Sailing Trip

A few photos sent to us from Mom and Dad/Barrie and Sue: their month-long sailing trip through the North Channel...

Mel and Beth "Tri"ed in Strathmore...

We did it!! Mel and I finished our first Triathlon today in Strathmore, surviving a 750m swim, 20km bike, and 5km run, and even acheiving respectable times in the process!! For more info about the event, see www.leapingdogracing.com (incl. posted times and results). Here are a few photos snapped by our loyal fans/husbands during the race:

Photos from the Ontario visitors...

Here are some photos from the long weekend (courtesy of Shandra and Dave Harman--thanks guys!): a few crazy nights at the Brennan/Brewin/Sharman household (and Rob's one crazy night at "Cowboys"!); a great hike in the Kanaskis; and a fun day rafting on the Bow River...

Mini Vacation #4? ...Lake Louise

This weekend's "mini-vacation" was a car-camping trip to Lake Louise. We stayed at Castle Mountain (see below) and did a mini-hike to a little waterfall on the nearby hiking trail. It was a little colder last night than we were expecting, and unfortunately all of our firewood was damp from the recent thunderstorms, but Dave managed to get a decent fire going after a few hours of drying the wood out, and we played cribbage by the fire until it got dark. No views of the meteor shower last night, despite clear skies: I think we were too far into the mountains/trees: not enough sky!! (Continued below...)

Mini Vacation #4? ...Lake Louise

Today we started our bike ride at Chateau Lake Louise, and biked in to Ross Lake: a slightly smaller, much calmer/less busy lake about 7.5km from the Chateau. It was a great ride: not too much uphill, and not too technical, so I was able to manage without making Dave wait too long for me to catch up! It continues to amaze me that we live so close to the mountains: it took just over 2 hrs to drive back to Calgary from Lake Louise. What an amazing opportunity to "live, work and play" in such an incredible place!

For the next few weeks, I have one more week of "housewifeing" before competing in a triathlon in Strathmore on Sunday the 20th (see www.leapingdogracing.com ), then both Dave and I are off on separate trips, houseboating in the Shuswap (Okanagan, BC) on the last weekend in August before I start work on Aug 28th.
I'm really looking forward to starting work: being on a more regular daily schedule, meeting my colleagues, and especially spending time with the kids.
Thanks for following our adventures!!

The gardens...

A crazy weekend with our Ontario posse...

We were SO excited to host Jim and Andrea, and to visit with Karen and Blair and Budi this past weekend. We planned a packed schedule, trying to show off all that Calgary and area had to offer: Golf on Friday and Monday, Hiking on Saturday, Rafting on the Bow River on Sunday, and of course a night at Cowboys and one at Ranchmans to top things off. Everyone seemed to have a blast, although we didn't factor much time into the schedule for rest or sleep!

It was so great to have guests at our new home--we had been busy getting things ready for the big "reveal": finishing the backyard, buying our last few odds and ends for the house, hanging pictures, etc. We've been told the guest room lives up to the Gorbailios' standards, so it should be ready for our other visitors in the fall.

It was also so nice just to spend time with our friends, knowing that despite the distance, nothing really changes too much, and we are easily able to pick up where we left off, sharing in each others lives and always creating new memories and crazy stories to tell. It's great to have our unlimited long distance plan now too, making us feel closer to home, being able to call friends and family whenever we want to (and vice versa I guess!).

We are still waiting for photos from last weekend (our digital camera has been pretty tempermental lately, so we relied on others rather than bring our duct-taped camera on hikes and out on the town. We will look forward to posting them asap once we get them.

Christmas in July?!?!

I'm sure you Ontario folks won't be able to imagine this, given the scorching temperatures you've endured the last few weeks, but we had our first cold spell here: a summer storm with rain, hail and...snow? After spending the last few days working on our yard and gardens, and our deck, we came home to find a layer of snow on our flowers, new sod, and freshly stained deck!! Luckily it didn't last for too long, but we managed to snap a quick photo as proof of this strange weather phenomenon...
It is supposed to be cool and rainy tomorrow, but hopefully will return to normal summer temperatures for the weekend!!!